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A fur slip is a defense mechanism. When threatened, they will shed chunks of fur, leaving a potential predator with a mouthful of fluff and the chinchilla long gone! Image 1: fur from a fairly small slip. Image 2: the corresponding spot on Ms. Joey's backside.
If your chinchilla gets scared or doesn't want you to catch them, they may fur slip. Sometimes just a tiny bit and other times a huge chunk. Image 3: the same area on Joey as image 2, but I blew into the area to spread out the fur so I could see her bands. Image 4: a week later as the fur is growing back and filling in the hole.
Bare skin and tufts of hair every where. Don't be alarmed if you pick up a handful of hair and think your chinchilla has to be naked... because their fur is so dense, a small fur slip will expand drastically once released from the skin. Image 5: a large fur slip on Ms. Kira! She zigged when I zagged during a cage cleaning and we startled each other. Image 6: the same fur slip after I blew into it. You can see her skin is a nice healthy pink with no irritation.
Most times the skin will be a healthy color with no irritation and you will need to do nothing. Image 7: Ms. Kira several weeks later showing the fur growing back and filling in the hole. 7-8 weeks after the slip, the fur was completely grown back in and the hole was gone.
If the skin is more red and irritated, you may be looking at ringworm instead. Check out our ringworm write-up for more details.
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